Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to increase the level of home ownership relative to other EU countries.

Brandon Lewis

This Government is committed to increasing opportunities to help people achieve the aspiration of home ownership. Almost 270,000 people have been helped to buy a home since 2010 using government-backed schemes. In the Autumn Statement we announced that the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme will be extended for five years to 2021 with £8.6 billion of additional funding. This will assist the sale of up to 145,000 more new-build homes. We will also launch London Help to Buy in early 2016, increasing the equity loan in London from up to 20% to up to 40%, in recognition of the specific affordability issues resulting from higher house prices in the capital.

The Autumn Statement also confirmed a total of £8 billion for over 400,000 affordable homes, including £4.1 billion for 135,000 new Shared Ownership homes. This also includes delivery of 200,000 Starter Homes at a 20% discount for young first time buyers, with £2.3 billion committed to supporting these. As well as reinvigorating the Right to Buy in 2012, we have secured a historic deal with housing associations to give their tenants the opportunity to buy their home with an equivalent discount to the Right to Buy.